GOP plan guts food program

In this June 2, 2011, editorial in The Register Citizen, Rosa DeLauro lays out  the grim effects of a plan put forward in the U.S. House of Representatives:

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps to feed more than 44 million Americans a day, 21 million of them kids. Put another way, one out of every seven Americans, and one out of every five children, is getting help. It is our country’s most important anti-hunger program.

Yet, under the budget put forward by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, this vital effort is at risk

Among the many drastic cuts included, the Republicans’ 2012 budget would slash SNAP by $127 billion — almost 20 percent — over the next 10 years. This could mean up to 10 million men, women, and children would be cut from the rolls and have to go hungry. The Republicans plan to convert SNAP into yet another underfunded block grant to the states, which could mean even larger cuts for American families.

Republicans argue that they are making these cuts because the cost of SNAP has increased in recent years. That is true due to simple math. SNAP helps feed those in economic need, and as the economy has stumbled, their numbers have grown.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, food stamp aid lifted more than 4.5 million Americans over the poverty line in 2009, including more than 2 million children and 200,000 seniors...Read more